Matthew 26-28

Book: Matthew

Jul 30

The trials of Jesus by Jew and Gentile show that He is perfect and has not committed any crime, keeping the Law. However, the disciples all abandon Him and so Jesus fulfills prophecy by dying alone.

The fulfillment begins to take place as the rulers plot against him, but since they fear the people (are self-righteous) they do it by stealth. Note that Jesus had always dealt publicly since He dealt in truth. The Pharisees do not work in truth so they must hide it.

While detailing the crucifixion, Chapter 27 virtually reads out of Psalm 22 and others in order to show the fulfillment of prophecy, that in fact, the One who comes for God would be humiliated and killed by those who thought they were acting for God, and that they were destroying an evil one. On the basis of these prophecies Jesus declares that they show that these Jews and Gentiles were the evil ones and He, in fact, though dying and seemingly weak, was the Righteous One.

The Resolution: The Lord’s Christ is bodily resurrected as a sign of His return to conquer the Gentiles and rule (Chapter 28).

The Denouement: The disciples are to make disciples of Gentiles based on the teaching of the five discourses of Matthew, the Apostolic Doctrine (Chapter 28).

The Jews in Judea rejected the Messiah in Matthew 12 and Jesus then gave it to a remnant of these Israelites; 12 apostles. These apostles would then build the foundation of another alternate group, the church (Matthew 16). This foundation would be none other than Jesus. Thus the church would be founded on Jesus. Yet the church would have to receive the proof that Jesus was the Christ and this would be the function of the apostles, to take the message beyond Israel to the Gentiles (since the Jews had already received the message in Matthew 10 and it would continue). It was the “message” that 67 would be important. Thus, Matthew 28:19 tells the apostles to take their eyewitness testimony, which they would record (e.g., Matthew, John) and this “apostolic doctrine (see Acts 2) would found the basis for the church. Thus the church would be founded on the apostolic doctrine (eyewitness testimony) of 12 Jews, who would become followers of these 12 Jews, being taught all that Jesus had taught them about Himself. This teaching is what Matthew recorded in order to follow the imperative given to them in Matthew 28:19. So the “Go” is not an imperative (aorist passive participle), but a helping verb for the main imperative, “make disciples.” They are to go to the Gentiles (Israel was already given the message in Matthew 10) and teach these Gentiles the five discourses of Matthew so they know where they are in the story of Messiah, and what they are to do. So what is the point? The point is that the church is founded on the Gospel of Matthew, otherwise known as the Apostolic Doctrine. Thus, the church is to find their hope only in teaching the Apostolic Doctrine, not self-help, not an incomplete Old Testament (as the Jews), but a doctrine which teaches the atonement on the cross, the resurrection of Jesus as the Christ, and the final eschatological Second Coming to establish an earthly kingdom and a final bodily resurrection of the saints.